Symptoms of depression are present in a significant proportion of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. While epidemiological studies have shown a strong association between depression and AD, it has not been established whether depression is a risk factor or merely a co-morbidity of AD. It is also uncertain if depression affects the pathogenesis of AD. In this paper, we address these questions by measuring the serum levels of two common metabolic risk factors of AD and depression, inflammatory cytokines (IL 6 and TNF alpha) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, in a case-control study. We measured the serum levels of IL 6, TNF α and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in age-matched healthy controls (n= 60) and in AD patients without depression (n=26) or AD patients with depression (n=34), and statistically analyzed the changes in these parameters among different groups under this study. Our results show that in AD there is a significant increase in IL 6 and TNF α and a marked decrease in 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the peripheral circulation compared to age-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, AD patients with depression have even significantly higher levels of IL 6 or TNF α and a lower level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in circulation than in AD patients without depression. We also found a strong statistical correlation between the disease severity and the serum levels of IL 6, TNF α and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in AD patients with depression. These results suggest that altered circulating levels of common metabolic risk factors lead to the co-existence of depression with AD in many patients, and when they co-exist, the depression presumably affects the severity of AD presentations through more aggravated changes in these risk factors.

This study was undertaken to estimate prevalence of metabolic syndrome in traditional societies in the sub-Himalayan region and to assess the impact of modernization on the risk to the syndrome. Two tribal populations--Toto and Bhutia--with a shared ancestry and habitat were selected. Some Bhutians have adopted a modern lifestyle. The study design permitted assessment of the relative roles of lifestyle and genetic factors in influencing the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Our study has revealed that metabolic syndrome (or its contributing variables) can be a major health problem, even in traditional rural ethnic groups, indicating that this syndrome is not necessarily a result of modernization or urbanization. Dyslipidemia seems to be the major contributor to metabolic syndrome. Further, our study indicates that genetic factors that adversely affect the levels of such variables have long antiquities in Indian ethnic groups. We find that there is an additional adverse impact of adoption of urban lifestyles (perhaps primarily mediated through dietary changes) on metabolic syndrome.

The impact of selected socio-demographic factors on reported obstetric morbidity during antepartum and postpartum periods was studied through a cross-sectional retrospective survey carried out in rural areas of three districts of West Bengal, India. During their most recent live births, 56.6% of mothers reported at least one morbid condition. Mothers with higher levels of education reported fewer overall problems. Factors such as age and pregnancy order affect obstetric morbidity differently in different religious groups. More mothers reported postpartum than antepartum problems, and very few sought treatment. The present study provides an insight into various factors affecting obstetric morbidity in a developing country.

SummaryWe have examined the patterns of DNA sequence variation in and around the genes coding for ICAM1 and TNF, which play functional and correlated roles in inflammatory processes and immune cell responses, in 12 diverse ethnic groups of India. We aimed to (a) quantify the nature and extent of the variation, and (b) analyse the observed patterns of variation in relation to population history and ethnic background. At the ICAM1 and TNF loci, respectively, the total numbers of SNPs that were detected were 28 and 12. Many of these SNPs are not shared across ethnic groups and are unreported in the dbSNP or TSC databases, including two fairly common non-synonymous SNPs at positions 13487 and 13542 in the ICAM1 gene. Conversely, the TNF-376A SNP that is reported to be associated with susceptibility to malaria was not found in our study populations, even though some of the populations inhabit malaria endemic areas. Wide between-population variation in the frequencies of shared SNPs and coefficients of linkage disequilibrium have been observed. These findings have profound implications in case-control association studies.

Psychosocial factors (including psychosocial stress) are documented to be related to morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and their risk factors. The present study examines whether perceived psychosocial stress affects blood pressures, blood lipids and obesity among the Bhutias, a tribal population of Sikkim. A total of 428 Bhutias of both sexes aged 20 years and above inhabiting both urban and rural areas participated after providing informed consent. Data on blood pressures, blood lipids, anthropometrics and a variety of lifestyle‐related factors including perceived stress level were collected following standard methods. The results clearly indicate that perceived stress significantly affects more than one CVD risk factor selected for study both in males and females. Perceived stress significantly affects diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol (TC) and ratio of TC and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in males, while in females, although significant effect of stress does not exist on blood pressures, significant effects of stress are discernible on Low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, TC/HDL as well as adiposity/obesity measures such as body mass index, waist circumference and waist–hip ratio. Perceived stress remains an independent factor affecting CVD risk factors even after controlling other significant lifestyle‐related predictors. Again, hypertension, both systolic and diastolic, overweight and obesity, have also been significantly affected by perceived stress. It appears that contribution of psychosocial stress in addition to other lifestyle‐related factors remains substantial among a tribal population inhabiting the eastern Himalaya and experiencing rapid socio‐cultural changes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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A total of 215 Lepchas (75 Buddhists and 140 Christians) living in the Kalimpong subdivision, Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India, were investigated for the distribution of haemoglobin, serum proteins and red cell enzymes. The gene frequencies were as follows: Hb^E = 0.02; Hp¹= 0.18; Tf^B = 0.007; Tf^DChi= 0.005; Gc²= 0.22; p^a = 0.18; p^c= 0.03; PGM²₁ = 0.18; PGM⁶₁= 0.002; PGD^C = 0.17; AK²= 0.02; GLO¹ = 0.21. The most striking features were the complete lack of G6PD deficiency and very high frequency of PGD^C. The remaining loci (serum albumin, lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphohexose isomerase and superoxide dismutase) were monomorphic. The gene frequencies were similar in the Buddhist and Christian Lepchas. The observed average heterozygosity (9 loci) was 0.20 in the entire sample.

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